“The Muppets boundless enthusiasm carries them stubbornly on, and if times have changed, they're refusing to acknowledge it. Life's a happy song, as the film's big musical number testifies. Sing it loud enough to drown out the doubters.”

“Perhaps there are one too many hip celebrity cameos (Dave Grohl, Zak Galifianakis, Kirsten Schaal, Leslie Feist…). But those who accuse the movie of pandering too much to thirtysomething nostalgia-hounds forget that the Muppets always were about bad puns, fourth-wall-breaking gags and broaching the silly-sophisticated divide between adult and kid humour. In an age when the R-rated comedy has become mainstream, that’s rare enough to be refreshing. Fox News may call them commies; to the rest of us, the Muppets are just plain, loveable and nice.”

“Jason Segelbrings the Muppets back down to earth more than a decade after their last big screen outing in Muppets from Space. Those fearing a crude Apatowian-style makeover with the Forgetting Sarah Marshall star at the helm need not worry - this is an affectionate and poignant revival of Jim Henson's cloth characters that'll satisfy fans and win over newcomers.”

“But the real stars are, of course, the Muppets themselves: Jim Henson may be gone (and Frank Oz’s voice talents are conspicuous by their absence), but ‘The Muppets’ is entirely true to their pioneering spirit, replete with beloved supporting characters, subversive asides, terrible puns and some of the most ludicrous, maniacal musical numbers ever committed to film – one throwaway showcase for a flock of singing chickens may well prove to be the funniest scene of 2012. The result is a film bursting at the seams with sheer, unadulterated joy: watch it, and the world seems just that little bit brighter...”

“He’s made The Muppets fun again. And his big idea is so obvious it’s genius. He gets his ­heroes to do what made him fall in love with them all those years go – perform in a useless but infectiously charming variety show.”

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